...I was lying in a hospital bed, having undergone a major, life-altering surgery earlier that day. Today I’m feeling very pensive as I reflect on so many changes that have occurred throughout the past 274 days. It’s both hard to believe nine months have already gone by and hard to believe it’s only been nine months.
I’m down 145 lbs and 71 inches overall. I’m not done yet but I’m happier in my own skin now than I have been in a LONG time, maybe than I ever have been. I’m one of those people who’s been “super morbidly obese” my entire life. Technically by numbers I’m still “obese” but I’ve cut my BMI almost in half so I’m ok with where I am. I’ve gone from a size 30 pant and 3x or 4x shirt to a size 16 pant and 1x shirt.
I’m mortified when I look at old pictures of myself like the one above, on the left. In almost every single full body shot I could find, I was either hiding behind someone/something or weirdly stooped over, almost crouching. I guess that was some kind of desperate attempt to not look as enormous as I was. I wish it hadn’t taken as long—and as much trauma—as it did for me to get serious about my weight but I can’t change that now.
All I can do is stand up tall and straight and take each new day as it comes. I used to dread getting older because even at 38, I was already in so much daily pain. Now I’m excited for what the future will hold and for where this journey will take me next...one day at a time!
